Humidifier



Sept. 27, 1966 w. w. MARTIN HUMIDIFIER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 6, 1965 INVENTOR.

WARNER w. MARTIN M,W Q'W ATTORNEYS Sept. 27, 1966 w. w. MARTIN 3,274,992

HUMIDIFIER Filed July 6, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG-9 3 I25 uz' H6 I a INVENTOR.

WARNER W.MARTIN ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,274,992 HUNIIDIFIER Warner W. Martin, Olmstead Falls, Ohio, assignor to The Lau Blower Company, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of This invention relates to the art of adding moisture to air, and particularly to a humidifier which is easily disassembled for cleaning.

More particularly, this invention relates to a humidifier of the power operated type wherein a drum of evaporator material is rotated through a reservoir to wet the 'material and suitable fan means forces air through the material to evaporate water therefrom. As the water is evaporated from the individual strands of the material, there is a build up of mineral deposits thereon which occurs primarily when the drum terminates rotation, for example, when the humidistat terminates operation of the humidifier.

There also is a substantial build up of the minerals in the reservoir since the evaporator material normally remains wet at all times causing the comparatively high concentrated solutions of dissolved minerals to be washed from the material each time the individual strands enter the reservoir. This causes the .water in the reservoir to be gradually concentrated with dissolved minerals, and eventually precipitation of these minerals occurs within the reservoir. If the evaporator material and reservoir of the humidfier is not periodically cleaned, the efficiency and rate of evaporation thereof will deacrese due tothe mineral deposits on the material and within the reservoir. Specifically, this invention is an improvement over that shown and described in the copending United States application of Warner W. Martin et al., Serial No. 258,338, filed February 13, 1963, and assigned to the assignee of this application.

Accordingly, it is an important object of this invention to provide an improved humidifier assembly which has all the advantages of the novel humidifier shown and claimed in the copending application, and in addition thereto. can be easily mounted in place and partially disassembled for cleaning without the use of tools.

Another object of this invention is to provide a humidifier unit of the aforesaid type wherein it is not necessary to disconnect the water line, the electrical connections, or the electrical motors to remove the evaporator material and reservoir for cleaning, and particularly to provide a unit of the aforesaid type with a novel housing which consumes a minimum of space when installed on a furnace.

A further object of this invention is to provide a selfcontained humidifier assembly which is simple in construction and possesses maximum reliability and dependability through long periods of operation while being easily and inexpensively manufactured, installed and cleaned, and further to provide a humidifier whereinthe media assembly and reservoir can be easily removed by hand in a minimum of time.

Other objects and advantages of the. invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a humidifier in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view similar to FIG. 1 showing the lower housing of the humidifier removed;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken essentially along the line 3--3 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 4 is a greatly enlarged view of the portion of the evaporator material used in the invention;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation view partially broken away to show the operating components of the humidifier;

FIG. 6 is a front elevation view, partially broken away, with the outer cover removed to show portions of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken essentially along the line 7-7 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of one of the clasps use-d to secure the upper and lower housings together;

FIG. 9 is a bot-tom view of the upper housing with the components of the humidifier mounted thereon;

'FIG. 10 is an end view of the humidifier looking from right to left in FIG. 5;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along the line 11-11 of FIG. 5; 7

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the hub on the media wheel;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the end of the drive shaft which connects to the hub on'the media wheel; and

FIG. 14 is an enlarged sectional view showing the float assembly.

Referring to the drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown, FIG. 1 illustrates the selfcontained humidifier 10 which includes the upper and lower housings 11 and 12 clamped together by the clasps 13, and secured to the outside vertical wall 15 of a hot air furnace plenum or duct. The present invention is adapted to use with practically any conventional hot air heating device or air duct, and consequently the furnace or air duct is not described in detail, and only. a fragmentary portion of the wall 15 there of is shown in the drawings.

The upper housing 11 is generally rectangular and has the back and front walls 16 and 1.7 with the top wall 18 formed integrally therebetween (FIGS. 5 and 9). The left-hand end of the top wall 18 curves gently downwardly to form the end wall 21 whereas the right-hand end wall 22 is substantially perpendicular to the adjacent walls 1648. A reinforced mounting flange 24 is formed integrally on the top wall 18, and the screws 25 can be inserted to suitable openings therein to secure the entire humidifier 10 to the furnace or duct wall 15, as seen in FIG. 1.

The lower housing 12 is also generally rectangular with back and front walls 27 and 28 (FIGS. 5-7) having the bottom wall 31 formed integrally therebetween. This bottom wall is connected integrally with the curved vertical end wall 32 on the right-hand end of the lower housing and the perpendicular end wall 33 on the opposite or right end thereof. The bottom wall 31 extends upwardly at an intermediate point to form a partition 35 which defines one side of the reservoir chamber 36.

The upper and lower housings 11 and 12 are coextensi ve in length and width so that they fit snugly together, as shown in FIG. 7, to define an air flow chamber which has an inlet opening 41 defined by mating semi-cutouts 42 and 43 in the back walls 16 and 27 of the upper and lower housing-s 11 and 12, respectively. An outlet 45 is formed in a similar manner by the semi-circular cutout 46 in the back wall 16 of the upper housing 11, and no mating :cutout is made in the lower housing 11, since the back wall 27 forms one side wall of the reservoirf As shown in FIG. 6, the front Wall 17 of the upper housing 11 has a downwardly extending flange 48 which mates with a complementary depression 49 in the wall 28 of the lower housing 12 to define a bracket 49 upon which the blower assembly 50 is secured. Thus, four bolts 51 on the blower motor 52 (FIG. 9) extend into the rubber grommets 53 in the openings 54 (FIG. 6) in the flange 48 to secure the motor 52 rigidly thereto. The drive shaft 57 of the motor 52 extends through a central opening 58 in the flange 48 and into the air flow chamber 40. A blower wheel 60 is mounted on this shaft by securing the hub 62 thereto using the set screw 63, and the inlet 61- to this blower wheel is aligned axially with and spaced close to the inlet 41 of the air flow chamber 40 for drawing air into this chamber.

1 The evaporator drum assembly 65 (FIG-11') is partially mounted on the front wall 17 of the upper housing 11 in spaced parallel relationship with the blower assem&

of the studs 71, .the grommets 72 are squeezed between the washers 75 thereby causing the grommets to expand radially intotight engagementwith the wall17, as best i seen in FIG. 11. j

A media'drive motor 76 is mounted'on' the gear-re duction unit 66, and drives the drive shaft77 of the unit 66 at a relatively slow speed, e.g., four to six r.p.m. This drive shaft is tubular and extends through a suitable opening 78 in the mounting area 68into the air flow chamber 40 a short distance beyond the interior side of the front wall 17 (FIG. 11). As shown in FIG. 13, the end 81 of this driveshaft 77 has tapered female grooves 82 formed therein diametrically on opposite sides of the shaft, and the curved interior portions 84 between these grooves are also tapered to facilitate alignment with the media support wheel 85. I r

The media wheel 85 consists of a back plate 87 having a central hub 88 thereon and the spaced and radially thereof. An endless sleeve of evaporator material 95 is supported on these fingers, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 11, so that rotation of the wheel 85 effects similar rotation of the evaporator material. The hub 88 onthe back plate 87 extends axially outwardly, as shown in FIG. 12,

and has a female frustoconical extension 97 thereon with the wedge shaped projections 98 projecting from diametrically opposite sides thereof. The taper of the .fr'ustoconical extension 97 corresponds to that of the portions '84 in the drive shaft 77, whereas the configuration of the wedge shaped projections 98 correspond tothe complementary grooves 87 in the end81 ofthe drive shaft-71 so that the hub 88 can be easily aligned on the drive shaft 77.

A threaded bore 101 extends axially into the hub 88 through the extension 97 for receiving the threaded end 102 and elongated fastening rod 103 which passes centrally through opening 104 inthe tubular drive shaft 77 and engages the bore 101. A suitable flange member 105 is secured on the rod 102 to abut the opposite end 101 of the drive shaft 77 (FIG. 11) so that by manually rotating the rod 102, the threadedend thereofengages the hub 88 and locks the media wheel 85 rigidly to-the drive shaft 77. Thereafter, rotation of the drive shaft 77 rotates both the media wheel and the rod 102.

The evaporator material 95 is preferably open cell polyurethane foam which has numerous irregularly spaced pores or passages therethrough, e.g., a porosity extending fingers 90 formed at the outer periphery 91 of eight to thirteen pores per lineal inch; 'This characteristic provides relatively large effective surface area to become wette'd when the belt is submerged in water. 'Another advantage of this material is that the total space consumed by the belt is much less than that .of other materials capable of'providing' the amount of surface area, and the particular porosity is dependent upon .the thickness, length, and width of the material, as well as the rate of air flow therethrough. It is important that the materialnot be absorbent since it is not desired to completely saturate the material 95 but only to wet the surface area thereof. 0

As shown in the greatly enlarged view of FIG. 4, this polyurethane foam material 95 is composed ofuniformly distributed interconnecting strands 95a which form a three-dimensional structure of openings or pores, without a covering membrane or surface of the typeoften found in foam rubber materialsfThe random arrangement of the pores eliminates straight channels through this material so. that air flowing therethrough passes around the individual strands thus creating maximum'contact therewith with minimum of air resistance. Also the flow through the material is uniform throughout so thatthere is maximum flow therethrough. While the pores are not precisely the same size, they are predominately within a range of similar sizes so that the air flowing therethrough is uniform throughout the surface on which water is deposited for maximum efliciency of the humidifier. This material is disclosed and claimed in the aforesaid copending application, and other materials'mayybe used without departingfrom the scope of thisinvention.

One or more of the Ushaped clamps a, as shown in. FIGS. 3 and 11, are inserted through the resilientmaterial and .around'a portion of the fingers 90 to prevent the material 95 from slipping circumferentially or, radially on the media wheel 85. a e

Since the blower motor 52, the media motor 76 and the speed reduction unit 66 are mounted'on the outside surface of the front wall 17 of an upper housing 11, a suitable cover 11a is, provided thereon for enclosing these .components. As shown in FIG. 1, this cover-has decorative air flow openings 106 in the front surface 107 thereof which provide for the flow of air as inducedby the fan 10s on the blower motor 52 (Fla-9 to prevent the motors 52 and 76 fromoverheating in normal. operation. The cover is rigidly securedtothe: upper housing by the-bolts 109 which extend through thexoutwardly extending flanges 17a on the'upper housing 17 and into the cover 11a, as shown in FIGS. 5 and '9. The

rod 102 is, sufliciently long to extend outwardly beyoud the front surface 107 of the cover 11a, and a;sui table knob 102a is provided onthe outer end thereof to facili- .tate gripping and manual rotation of thisrod'. l

A float chamber 110 is formed integrally with the lower housing 12 and extends outwardly from the front wall 28 thereof,.a's shownin FIGS. 5 and 6, to receive the float.

assembly 112 which is rigidly 1mounted'on theupper housing 11. An opening 113 is provided in the front wall 28 so that water within the float chamber 110 passes readily into thereservoir 36;to maintain a preset water level therein. The float assembly 1'1-2 is supported; in place by the bracket 115 which'is secured by the bolts 116 to the interior wall 117 ofthe closed compartment 118 formed integrally within the cover 100 to house the electrical switches and connections. i

The float assembly 112 includes af valve body 120 secured to the bracket 115 by the nut 121 and has a lone gitudinal passageway 123 therein terminatedat one end by an orifice 124 on thetop side of the valve body 120. The Styrofoam float,1:25 is securedat the end of the arm 136jwhich is pivotally secured on the valve body 120 by the pin 127 so that movement of the arm 1261forces the valve member 130 into and out of engagement with the orifice 124 to controlthe flow of water therefrom.

The pm 131 extends through the Styrofoam and,

secures it to the arm 12 6, and a cover member 13,3]is

provided above ,the orifice 124'and valve member so that any spray of Water. isconfine'd .to the float cham;

ber110. r vWhen the water level in the float chamber, 110 changes, the buoyancy of the float 125 causes it to rise or 'fall thereby changing the, position of the arm 126 which in turn moves the valve member with respect to theorifice 124 to open or close this orifice. The. levelfof the 110 and reservoir 36.

The compartment 118 is completely enclosed and has a removable outer plate 100 (FIG. thereon secured in place by the screws 135 so that the electrical switch 136 and other electrical connections will be separated from the flow of water and air through the humidifier, and thus not susceptible to becoming shorted or otherwise damaged. A removable expansion plug 140 is provided in the opening 141 in' the bottom wall of the reservoir 36 (FIG. 2) so that the water from this reservoir may be easily drained therefrom prior to removal of the lower housing 12. The plug 140 is conventional in design wherein pivotal movement of the lever 14 2 causes the outer diameter thereof to expand or contract.

The clasps 13 are provided at opposite ends of the upper and lower housings 11 and 12 for securing these housings together. Each of'the clasps 13 includes a base bracket 145 ('FIG. 8) secured to the end wall 32 or 3-3 of the lower housing 12 and having the pivot link 146 secured thereto. The clamp member 147 is secured to the opposite end of the link 146, and the upper portion of the clamp has a downw-ardlyextending lip 148 which is adapted to engage the opening 149 in the bracket 151 an the upper housing 11. The clasp 13 is released by merely pulling the bottom portion 153 thereof outwardly away from the wall 32 or 33, which then perm-its upward movement thereof so that the lip 148 disengages the opening 149 in the bracket 151.

The clasps 13 can be resecured by reversing the above operation, and it is to be understood that other forms of manually releasable clasps can be used to fasten the upper and lower housings together without departing from the scope of this invention. The resilient seal 155 is provided between the adjacent edge-s 156. and'157 of the upper and lower housings 1'1 and 12 to provide a snug fit therebetween. Both the upper and lower housings 11 and 12, as well as the cover 11a, are preferably made of molded fiberglass plastic which provides the necessary rigidity for the housing and can be as easily cleaned.

For preferred operation, the rate of flow through the material 95, the porosity of the material 95, and the rate of movement of the media. wheel 85 are correlated so that substantially all of the strands 95a remain wet at all times. As a result, only a portion of the water which wets the material is evaporated therefromv so that the deposits on the material caused by evaporation are reduced to a minimum since evaporation of some of the water merely concentrates the remaining water with dissolved minerals. These solutions are subsequently removedwhen the material reenters thereservoir 36 wherein the highly concentrated solution-s are washed off.

In operation, 'as the media wheel 85 is slowly rotated by motor 76, the porous sleeve 95 dips below the surface of the water in the reservoir 36, and each of the strands 95:: becomes wetted thus providing a substantial total :surface area from which this, water can be evaporated. High speed rotation of the blowerwheel 60 by its motor 52 draws warmed or heated air fromthe furnace or duct 15, through the inlet 41, and. forces it radially into the air flow chamber 40. The increased pressure in the chamber 40 forces air through the porous sleeve 95 into theinterior of the drum and then through the outlet 45 back into the furnaceor duct 15.

As the heated air passes through the numerous pores of the. sleeve 95 at a relatively. high velocity, -it evaporates a portion of the moisture on the surfaces of the strands 95a with a resulting increase in the moisture content of the air. The continuous rotation of the media assembly 85 keeps the sleeve 95 constantly wet, and consequently the usual solids or other precipitate which is formed thereon is held to a minimum. As the sleeve 95 passes through the water, the concentrated solution of dissolved minerals is washed or rinsed therefrom and this action gradually concentrates the dissolved minerals in 6 solution in the reservoir 36 and eventually precipitation will occur.

After the humidifier 10 has been in operation for a period of time, it should be cleaned in order to remove any mineral deposits which have collected on the media Wheel 85, in the reservoir 36 or in the float chamber 110. This is easily accomplished by using the switch 136 to inactivate the blower and media motors 52 and 76, and termina-ting the flow of water to the float assembly 112 by shutting off the valve 160 (FIG. 1). The clasps are then disengaged in the manner described above, and this releases the lower housing 12 so that it can be moved downwardly and away from the humidifier to a suitable location for cleaning. If desired, the plug 140 can be removed prior to removal of the lower housing 12 to drain the reservoir 36 so that the lower housing does not have water therein when it is detached.

To remove the media wheel 85, it is merely necessary to rotate the knob 102a, and thus the rod 102, to unscrew it from the hub 88 on the media wheel 85. The speed reduction unit 66 will not permit the shaft 77 to rotate and thus the media wheel does not rotate during removal of the rod 102. Once the rod is removed, the media wheel 85 drops downwardly, as shown in FIG. 2, and is taken to a suitable location for cleaning. The material 95 is easily removed therefrom by disengaging the clamps 9011 from the fingers and sliding the sleeve from the fingers. Once the material is cleaned or replaced, the media wheel is again attachedto the drive shaft 77 by reversing the operation set forth above.

Alignment of the media wheel 85 with the shaft 77 is facilitated by the frustoconical portion 97 and the tapered wedges 98 on the hub 88 which are received in the complementary grooves 92 and the tapered portion 84. Once the rod 102' is tightened into place so that the hub 88 is locked to the shaft 7, it is merely necessary to replace the lower housing 12, turn on the water valve 160, and the electrical switch 136. Accordingly, the humidifier 10 can be cleaned periodically without the use of tools or special knowledge to disassemble and reassemble the unit.

It should be understood that the media wheel 85 could be replaced With other suitable equivalent evaporator means which will support the sleeve 95 or other material while permitting air to pass readily therethrough, such as perforated cylinder, without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, other equivalent means could be used to effect the flow through the chamber 40 so that the blower assembly 50 could be replaced or eliminated without varying from the scope of this invention. While the media wheel has been shown and described as taking the form of a drum, it is within the scope of this invention to construct this wheel in other forms such as a paddle wheel configuration, star shaped, or belt.

The invention has thus provided an improved humidifier assembly which can be easily mounted in place and partially disassembled for cleaning without disconnecting the water supply and the electrical connections. These features are permitted by mounting the floating assembly in the upper housing so that the water line need not be disconnected, by supporting the media wheel for easy removal, and by mounting all of the operative components of the humidifier 'on the upper housing thereby allowing easy removal of the lower housing. a 'While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise form of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

V 1. A humidifier assembly adapted for mounting on a furnace or the like comprising, a housing defining an air flow chamber and having one side adapted for mounting on the furnace, spaced inlet and outlet openings in said one side adapted to communicate with the interior of the furnace, said housing being split along a horizontal plane and including upper and lower portions, said upper portion adapted to be secured on the furnace, releasable means for securing said lower portion to said upper portion so that said lower portion-may be detached from said upper portion for cleaning without detaching said upper portion from the furnace, an outer wall on said upper portion of said housing, drive means mounted on" said outer wall exterior of said air flow chamber and having a tubular drive shaft which extends through said outer Wall into said chamber, an evaporator drum assembly in said air flow chamber between said inlet and said outlet, said evaporator drum assembly including highly porous material secured on a support frame, a support shaft extending through said tubular drive shaft into releasable engagement with said support frame to connect said drum assembly-to said drive shaft for rotation therewith, means defining a reservoir in said housing below said drum -assembly for wetting said material, and means associated securing said lower portion to said upper portion so that,

said lower portion maybe detached from said upper portion for cleaning without detachingsaid upper portion from the furnace, an outer wall on said upper portion of.

saidhousing, drive means'moun-ted on said outer wallexterior of said air flow chamber, atubular drive shaft on said drive means having one end extending through said outer. wall into said chamber, an evaporator drum assembly in said air flow chamber, said evaporator drum assembly including highly porous material secured on a support frame, a support shaft extending through said tubular drive shaft into engagement with said support frame to releasably connect said drum assembly to said drive shaft for rotation therewith, means for wetting said material, and means associated with said air flow chamber for moving air through said material to increase the moisture content of the air. A

, 3. A humidifier assembly adapted for mounting on a furnace or the like, comprising a housing defining an air flow chamber and having one side adapted for mounting on the furnace, an opening intsaid one side adapted to communicate with the interior of the furnace, said housing being split generally along a horizontal plane and including upper and lower portions, said upper portion adapted to be secured on the furnace, releasable means for securing said lower portion to said upper portion so that said lower portion may be detached from said upper portion for cleaning without detaching said upper portion'from the furnace, an outer wall on said upper portionof said housing, drive means mounted on said outer wall exterior of said air flow chamber, a tubular drive shaft on said drive means having one end extending through said outer wall into said chamber, an evaporator drum assembly in said air flow chamber, said evaporator drumassembly including highly porous'material secured on a support frame, a support shaft extending through 8 furnace or the like,; comprising a housing defining an air flow chamber and having one side adapted for mounting on the furnace, an outlet opening in said one side adapted to communicate with the interior of the furnace-said housing being split generally along a horizontalplane and including upper and lower portions, said, upperr portion adapted to be secured on the furnace, releasable means for securing said lower portion to said upper-portion I so that said lower portion may be detached from said upper portion for cleaning with-out detaching said upper portion from the furnace, an outer wall on said upper portion of said housing, drive means mounted on saidiouter wall exterior of said air flow chamber, a tubulartdrive shaft on said drive means having one end extending through said outer wall into said chamber, an evaporator drum assembly in saidjair flow chamber, a support shaft extending through said tubular drive shaft into engagement with said drum assembly, a radial projection on .7

said support shaft for engaging the opposite end of said drive shaft tolimit the extent to which said-support shaft will pass through'said drive shaft to releasably, con- 'nect said drum assembly to said drive shaft for; rotation therewith, mating means on said one end .of said support shaft and said support frame for easy alignment of saidrsupport frame with said support shaft to facilitate interconnection thereof, means for wetting said evaporator drum assembly, andmeans associated with said air flow chamber for moving air'through said evaporator drum assembly to increase the moisture content of the air. 5. A humidifier assembly as defined in claim 4 wherein said support shaft extends outwardly from said 'drive means to permit manual rotation of said support shaft to connect and disconnectrsaid evaporator :assemblyon furnace .or the like, comprising a housing defining an said drive shaft; 1 Y 5 1 V t 6. A humidifier assembly adapted for mounting on ya including upper and lower portions, saidupper portion said tubular drive shaft into'engagement with said support frame, radial projection means on said support-shaft for engaging the oppositeend of said drive shaft to limit the extent to which said support shaft will passthrough said drive shaft to releasably connect said drum assembly to said drive shaft for rotation therewith, means for wetting said material, and means'associated with said air flow chamber for moving air through said'material to increase the moisture content of the air. a

.4. A humidifier assembly adapted for .mountingon a adapted to (be secured on the furnace, releasable means for securing said lower portion to said upper portion so that said lower portion may be detached from said upper 7 portion forvcleaning without detaching said upper .portion from the furnace, an .outer wall onsaid upper portion of said housing, drive .means mounted on said outer wall exterior of said air flowchamber, a tubular drive shaft on said drive means having one end extending through said outer wall into said chamber, an evaporator drum 'assemblyin said air flow chamber, said evaporator drum assembly includinghighly porous material secured-on a support frame, a hub on said support frame having an internally threaded bore therein, a support shaft extending through said tubular drive shaft and having a threaded end for engagement ;with,said threaded bore, radialprojection means on said support shaft for engaging the opposite endtof said drive shaft to limit the extent to which said support shaft will pass through said drive shaft so that said rodsupport shaft releasably connects said'drum assembly to said drive shaft fortrotation therewith, means forwetting said material, and means associated with said 'air flow-chamber for moving air through said material,

to increase the moisture content of the air.

'7;A humidifier assembly comprisi g, a housing defining anair flow chamber, drive means mounted on said housing," said drive means] having a tubular driveshaft, an evaporator assembly in said air flow chamber, a support shaft extending through 'said tubular drive {shaft intoengagement with said evaporator assembly, aradial projection 'on said support shaft aforengaging the; opposite end of said drive shaft to limit the' extent 'towhich said support shaft willpassthrough said drive shaft to releasably connect said evaporator assembly to said drive] 9 said shaft and said support frame for easy alignment of said support shaft with said support frame to facilitate connection of said support frame to said drive means, means for wetting said evaporator assembly material, and means associated with said air flow chamber for moving air through said evaporator assembly to increase the moisture content of the air.

8. A humidifier assembly adapted for mounting on a furnace or the like comprising, a housing defining an air flow chamber and having one side adapted for mounting on the furnace, an opening in said one side adapted to communicate with the interior of the furnace, said housing being split generally along a horizontal plane and including upper and lower portions, said upper portion adapted to be secured on the furnace, releasable means for securing said lower portion to said'upper portion so that said lower portion may be detached from said upper portion for cleaning without detaching said upper portion from the furnace, an outer wall on said upper portion of said housing, drive means mounted on said outer wall exterior of said air flow chamber, a tubular drive shaft on said drive means having one end extending through said outer wall into said chamber, an evaporator drum assembly in said air flow chamber, said evaporator drum assembly including highly porous material secured on a support frame, a support shaft extending through said tubular drive shaft into engagement with said support frame to releasably connect said drum assembly to said drive shaft for rotation therewith, means defining reservoir means in said lower portion of said housing below said drum assembly for wetting said material, a float assembly mounted insaid upper portion of said housing in alignment with said reservoir means for cooperation therewith to maintain a preset water level in said reservoir means, and 'means associated with said air flow chamber for moving air through said material to increase the moisture content of the air.

9. A humidifier assembly as defined in claim 7 wherein said housing includes means for removing said evaporator assembly from said air flow chamber by manually det aching said support shaft from said tubular drive shaft and said evaporator assembly to enable the evaporator assembly to be easily and quickly removed from said housing for maintenance.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,149,626 9/1964 Wentling et al. 126-113 3,148,964 9/1964 Flury 126-113 X 3,212,492 10/1965 Himmerich et al. 126113 JAMES W. WESTHAVER, Primary Examiner. 

1. A HUMIDIFIER ASSEMBLY ADAPTED FOR MOUNTING ON A FURNACE OR THE LIKE COMPRISING, A HOUSING DEFINING AN AIR FLOW CHAMBER AND HAVING ONE SIDE ADAPTED FOR MOUNTING ON THE FURNACE, SPACED INLET AND OUTLET OPENINGS IN SAID ONE SIDE ADAPTED TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE INTERIOR OF THE FURNACE, SAID HOUSING BEING SPLIT ALONG A HORIZONTAL PLANE AND INCLUDING UPPER AND LOWER PORTIONS, SAID UPPER PORTION ADAPTED TO BE SECURED ON THE FURNACE, RELEASABLE MEANS FOR SECURING SAID LOWER PORTION TO SAID UPPER PORTION SO THAT SAID LOWER PORTION MAY BE DETACHED FROM SAID UPPER PORTION FOR CLEANING WITHOUT DETACHING SAID UPPER PORTION FROM THE FURNACE, AN OUTER WALL ON SAID UPPER PORTION OF SAID HOUSING, DRIVE MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID OUTER WALL EXTERIOR OF SAID AIR FLOW CHAMBER AND HAVING A TUBULAR DRIVE SHAFT WHICH EXTENDS THROUGH SAID OUTER WALL INTO SAID CHAMBER, AN EVAPORATOR DRUM ASSEMBLY ON SAID AIR FLOW CHAMBER BETWEEN SAID INLET AND SAID OUTLET, SAID EVAPORATOR DRUM ASSEMBLY INCLUDING HIGHLY POROUS MATERIAL SECURED ON A SUPPORT FRAME, A SUPPORT SHAFT EXTENDING THROUGH SAID TUBULAR DRIVE SHAFT INTO RELEASABLE ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID SUPPORT FRAME TO CONNECT SAID DRUM ASSEMBLY TO SAID DRIVE SHAFT FOR ROTATION THEREWITH, MEANS DEFINING A RESERVOIR IN SAID HOUSING BELOW SAID DRUM ASSEMBLY FOR WETTING SAID MATERIAL, AND MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID AIR FLOW CHAMBER FOR MOVING AIR THROUGH SAID OUTLET OPENING TO INCREASE THE MOISTURE CONTENT OF THE AIR. 